Alcator C-Mod Run 1021003 Information

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Miniproposals
Miniproposal:316
Date Filed: 8/20/2002
Title:Initial Active MHD TAE Experiments
First Author:Joseph Snipes
Session Leader:Joseph Snipes (shots 1-25)

Operators
Session leader(s):Joseph Snipes
Physics operator(s):Earl Marmar
Engineering operator(s): Unknown

Engineering Operator Run Comment
MP 316 Initial Active MHD TAE Experitments in Ohmic Plasmas. Snipes/Mar

Session Leader Plans

Physics Operators Plans

Session Leader Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 03:49:31:100PM
Author: To Be Determined
Run Summary for Thursday 1021003 Initial Active MHD TAE Experiments in Ohmic
Plasmas MP 316

Summary: It was a very good run where we achieved even more than the
mini-proposal called for. TAE resonances were observed on most shots showing
a factor of two increase above the background at 421 kHz. Resonances followed
the TAE frequency formula in proportion to toroidal field and inversely with
the sqrt of the density at least approximately. On some shots, the frequency
of the resonance was spot on the formula using the line averaged density and
BTOR toroidal field. We also showed on shot 1021003022 that we could still
observe a TAE resonance down to 21 W of input power, which corresponds to
nearly 3 A of current in the antenna. The last two shots (24 and 25) were done
with diverted plasmas at high density and clear TAE resonances were observed
on both shots at high triangularity and lower triangularity. The poloidal
field amplitude measured at the AB limiter during the Active MHD antenna pulse
at full power (400 W) was nearly 2 x 10^-6 T. Attempts were also made to sweep
the frequency over the limited range where matching could be obtained on shots
16, 17, 19, and 21. The largest range corresponded to 421 kHz + 1% - 2% and
some resonances were observed, though they appeared weak in the raw data.
Further analysis is required to accurately determine damping rates. Initial
estimates based on the TF ramps indicate a Q of about 40 or a damping rate of
2.5%, which is in the range observed on JET.


Physics Operator Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 04:37:16:440PM
Author: To Be Determined
Physop run summary 1021003

MP 316: Initial Active MHD TAE Experiments in Ohmic Plasmas

Session leader: J. Snipes
Physics operator: E. Marmar

Power Systems as on 1021002021 except TF current limit set to 175 kA

ECDC overnight in D2 at 2e-4 Torr, stopping by 07:00.

Run begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

Gas setup:
fill B-Top with 6 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG4)
fill B-side lower with 1 psi Ar Hybrid enabled (PG1)
fill B-side upper with 10 psi D2 Hybrid DISABLED (PG2) (for ECDC)
fill C-side with 30 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG3)
leave J-Bottom as is Hybrid DISABLED (PG5)

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:
ECE, VUV, DNB

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RF Setup: All 4 transmitters OFF throughout the run!

Run Plan: Run Ohmic inner wall limited plasmas at low elongation (kappa < 1.4)
and low triangularity (delta < 0.3) at 0.8 MA with TF ramp from 6 T at 0.6 s
down to 3.5 T at 1.5 s at moderate density initially set to nl04 = 5.6 x 10^19
m^-2. Drive the Active MHD antenna at 350 - 400 W at matching frequency in the
middle of the TAE range for q=1.5 for standard conditions, which is presently
at 411 kHz. Look for TAE resonances on magnetic pick-up coils driven by the
antenna as the plasma sweeps through the resonance. Vary the density shot to
shot to look for the resonance. Depending on the results, current ramps may
also be used to vary q95. If resonances are observed and time permits, go to
helium plasmas to check the mass dependence of the TAE resonance.
-

The run went well. Good data were collected with the active MHD driving stable
mode(s) (see session leader summary). We ran inner wall limited discharges over
a range of densities (nl_04 from 6e19 to 2.3e19 in l-mode) and currents (.7 to
1.0 MA), with Bt sweeps, covering ranges from 7 Tesla to 3 Tesla over the
course of the day. The last 2 plasmas (24 and 25) were diverted with TF ramps.
Both showed the "weird" high-field ohmic H-mode-like behavior that we have seen
in the past, with increases in density, decreases in D-alpha, increases in
neutron rate, and no effect on the edge x-rays.

Startup was reliable, with minor tweaks to prepuff and B_R0. A few shots had
hard x-rays early; increasing the prepuff seemed to help. There was no
between-shot ECDC today.

Problems:

Snipes lost his PCI data acquisition on shot 20, and it took about 80 minutes
to get it back. Shot 23 was lost to a pulled breaker during check.

Scorecard:

Plasmas 23
Fizzle 1
Duds 0
tests/no power cycles 1

Total data cycles 25

From: SPANNA::MARMAR
Date: 3-OCT-2002 17:57:52
Subj: Physop run summary 1021003

Physop run summary 1021003

MP 316: Initial Active MHD TAE Experiments in Ohmic Plasmas

Session leader: J. Snipes
Physics operator: E. Marmar

Power Systems as on 1021002021 except TF current limit set to 175 kA

ECDC overnight in D2 at 2e-4 Torr, stopping by 07:00.

Run begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

Gas setup:
fill B-Top with 6 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG4)
fill B-side lower with 1 psi Ar Hybrid enabled (PG1)
fill B-side upper with 10 psi D2 Hybrid DISABLED (PG2) (for ECDC)
fill C-side with 30 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG3)
leave J-Bottom as is Hybrid DISABLED (PG5)

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:
ECE, VUV, DNB

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RF Setup: All 4 transmitters OFF throughout the run!

Run Plan: Run Ohmic inner wall limited plasmas at low elongation (kappa < 1.4)
and low triangularity (delta < 0.3) at 0.8 MA with TF ramp from 6 T at 0.6 s
down to 3.5 T at 1.5 s at moderate density initially set to nl04 = 5.6 x 10^19
m^-2. Drive the Active MHD antenna at 350 - 400 W at matching frequency in the
middle of the TAE range for q=1.5 for standard conditions, which is presently
at 411 kHz. Look for TAE resonances on magnetic pick-up coils driven by the
antenna as the plasma sweeps through the resonance. Vary the density shot to
shot to look for the resonance. Depending on the results, current ramps may
also be used to vary q95. If resonances are observed and time permits, go to
helium plasmas to check the mass dependence of the TAE resonance.
-

The run went well. Good data were collected with the active MHD driving stable
mode(s) (see session leader summary). We ran inner wall limited discharges over
a range of densities (nl_04 from 6e19 to 2.3e20 in L-mode) and currents (.7 to
1.0 MA), with Bt sweeps, covering ranges from 7 Tesla to 3 Tesla over the
course of the day. The last 2 plasmas (24 and 25) were diverted with TF ramps.
Both showed the "weird" high-field ohmic H-mode-like behavior that we have seen
in the past, with increases in density, decreases in D-alpha, increases in
neutron rate, and no effect on the edge x-rays.

Startup was reliable, with minor tweaks to prepuff and B_R0. A few shots had
hard x-rays early; increasing the prepuff seemed to help. There was no
between-shot ECDC today.

Problems:

Magnetics PCI data acquisition went awry on shot 20, and it took about 80 minutes
to get it working. Shot 23 was lost to a pulled breaker during check.

Scorecard:

Plasmas 23
Fizzle 1
Duds 0
tests/no power cycle 0/1

Total data cycles 25

Session Leader Comments
Oct 3 2002 09:08:08:677AM1021003001Joseph SnipesStart with WAVEFORM for External Control of the ENI off to give a reference
plasma. Disrupted at 1.28 s for no obvious reason. Perhaps, something fell
into the plasma.
Oct 3 2002 10:19:20:947AM1021003002Joseph SnipesShot 2: External control at 3.8 V. F0 = 421 kHz, HPFG = 0.488 V. Got 140 W.
Disrupted at 1.21 s.
Oct 3 2002 10:43:35:490AM1021003003Joseph SnipesShot 3: Raised Ext. Control to 5 V.
Oct 3 2002 10:20:03:793AM1021003004Joseph SnipesShot 4: Weak resonance in the current rise at about 0.13 s on BP03_ABK.
Oct 3 2002 10:20:14:653AM1021003005Joseph SnipesShot 5: Weak resonance in the current rise at about 0.13 s on BP03_ABK.
Oct 3 2002 10:39:15:830AM1021003006Joseph SnipesShot 6: Doubled the density. Resonance at 1.2 s on BP03_ABK.
Oct 3 2002 10:44:00:770AM1021003008Joseph SnipesShot 8: Raised Ext. Control to 9 V.
Oct 3 2002 11:02:32:787AM1021003008Joseph SnipesShot 8: Raised Ext. Control to 9 V. Intermediate density. Resonance at 1.3 s.
Oct 3 2002 11:20:29:160AM1021003009Joseph SnipesShot 9: Raised Ext. Control to 10 V. Lower density to 7.5 x 10^19 m^-2.

Oct 3 2002 11:31:56:590AM1021003010Joseph SnipesShot 10: Raised density to 1.5 x 10^20 m^-2. Resonance moved to 0.8 s.
The resonance is clearly following the TAE formula.

Oct 3 2002 11:56:29:013AM1021003011Joseph SnipesShot 11: Raised density to 1.7 x 10^20 m^-2. Resonances appear at 0.35 and
0.45 s.

Oct 3 2002 12:14:07:013PM1021003012Joseph SnipesShot 12: Raise Ip to 0.85 MA and Bt to 6.9 T to be able to sustain nearly this
high a density. Disrupted at 1.7 s. Nice resonance at 1.15 s.
Oct 3 2002 12:17:53:453PM1021003012Joseph SnipesShot 12: Raise Ip to 0.85 MA and Bt to 6.9 T to be able to sustain nearly this
high a density. Disrupted at 1.7 s. Nice resonance at 1.15 s.
Resonant frequency agrees spot on at 421 kHz with the nebar calculation
at RMAGX.
Oct 3 2002 12:42:16:020PM1021003013Joseph SnipesShot 13: Raise density by 10%. Nice resonance at 1.05 s
Oct 3 2002 12:49:06:657PM1021003014Joseph SnipesShot 14: Raise density to nl04 = 2.2 x 10^20 m^-2. Resonance at 0.82 s.
Oct 3 2002 01:09:12:107PM1021003015Joseph SnipesShot 15: Raise density to nl04 = 2.3 x 10^20 m^-2.
Oct 3 2002 01:54:44:783PM1021003016Joseph SnipesShot 16: Slow ramp in BT from 5.8 to 5.6 T at nl04 = 1.5 x 10^20 m^-2.
Turned on VCO to sweep the frequency by 2% about 421 kHz for 5 sweeps.
Brief resonance.
Oct 3 2002 01:56:10:173PM1021003017Joseph SnipesShot 17: Flat Bt at 5.8 T, nl04 = 1.7e20 m^-2. Got a brief resonance again
but not very clear.
Oct 3 2002 01:56:24:283PM1021003018Joseph SnipesShot 18: Fizzle!
Oct 3 2002 03:58:01:533PM1021003019Joseph SnipesShot 19: Slight ramp in TF with VCO at +1 - 3% of F0 = 421 kHz.
Oct 3 2002 04:00:43:317PM1021003020Joseph SnipesShot 20: Good shot, but lost ACQ16 data. Long delay to recover proper
operation of the ACQ16. Needed to reboot PCDAQ1 then
TCL STOP SERVER DAQA::MHDA_DAQ_SERVER
ssh pcdaq1 -l dt100
dt100
acqcmd setChannelMask 1111111111110000
Oct 3 2002 04:14:12:093PM1021003021Joseph SnipesShot 21: Repeat to get ACQ16 data. Got the sweep, but the resonance is not
so clear.
Oct 3 2002 04:29:28:357PM1021003022Joseph SnipesShot 22: Repeat shot 10 at external control = 0.7 V to see if we can still see
a resonance at low power. Turned off VCO. Clear resonance with only
21 W of ENI power!
Oct 3 2002 04:33:52:657PM1021003023Joseph SnipesShot 23: Attempted to reproduce similar conditions to shot 22 with a diverted
plasma but a breaker pulled so there were no power supplies.
Oct 3 2002 05:28:05:493PM1021003024Joseph SnipesShot 24: Repeat the diverted shot. Got a resonance at around 1 s.
Oct 3 2002 05:30:17:760PM1021003025Joseph SnipesShot 25: Repeat the diverted shot at lower triangularity. Got a resonance at
around 0.8 - 1 s that is very clear.
Oct 3 2002 05:44:26:177PM1021003025Joseph SnipesSummary: It was a very good run where we achieved even more than the
mini-proposal called for. TAE resonances were observed on most shots showing
a factor of two increase above the background at 421 kHz. Resonances followed
the TAE frequency formula in proportion to toroidal field and inversely with
the sqrt of the density at least approximately. On some shots, the frequency
of the resonance was spot on the formula using the line averaged density and
BTOR toroidal field. We also showed on shot 1021003022 that we could still
observe a TAE resonance down to 21 W of input power, which corresponds to nearly
3 A of current in the antenna. The last two shots were done with diverted
plasmas at high density and clear TAE resonances were observed on both shots
at high triangularity and lower triangularity.

Physics Operator Comments
Oct 3 2002 08:57:59:307AMEarl MarmarMP 316: Initial Active MHD TAE Experiments in Ohmic Plasmas

Session leader: J. Snipes
Physics operator: E. Marmar

Power Systems as on 1021002021 except TF current limit set to 175 kA

ECDC overnight in D2 at 2e-4 Torr, stopping by 07:00.

Run begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

Gas setup:
fill B-Top with 6 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG4)
fill B-side lower with 1 psi Ar Hybrid enabled (PG1)
fill B-side upper with 10 psi D2 Hybrid DISABLED (PG2) (for ECDC)
fill C-side with 30 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG3)
leave J-Bottom as is Hybrid DISABLED (PG5)

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:
ECE, VUV, DNB

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RF Setup: All 4 transmitters OFF throughout the run!

Run Plan: Run Ohmic inner wall limited plasmas at low elongation (kappa < 1.4)
and low triangularity (delta < 0.3) at 0.8 MA with TF ramp from 6 T at 0.6 s
down to 3.5 T at 1.5 s at moderate density initially set to nl04 = 5.6 x 10^19
m^-2. Drive the Active MHD antenna at 350 - 400 W at matching frequency in the
middle of the TAE range for q=1.5 for standard conditions, which is presently
at 411 kHz. Look for TAE resonances on magnetic pick-up coils driven by the
antenna as the plasma sweeps through the resonance. Vary the density shot to
shot to look for the resonance. Depending on the results, current ramps may
also be used to vary q95. If resonances are observed and time permits, go to
helium plasmas to check the mass dependence of the TAE resonance.
Oct 3 2002 09:15:34:037AM1021003001Earl Marmarloading shot set up by Joe Snipes

Segment 1 from 1021002025
increase prepuff to 25 msec (early in run, DNB GV opening)

Segment 2:
start from 1010627010
decrease Ip to 800kA
Ramp field, first up, then down
fiddle with shape

plasma

disrupt at 1.29

started getting dirty and resistive at about 1.13; not obvious why
Oct 3 2002 09:29:14:757AM1021003002Earl Marmarmove zxl down
move zcur up
start TF rampdown 50 msec earlier

plasma

disrupt at 1.21 s (density is dropping, radiation increases)
Oct 3 2002 09:42:13:347AM1021003003Earl Marmarreduce clearin (1 cm more negative) to reduce elongation

plasma

disrupt at 1.12


Oct 3 2002 10:27:28:187AM1021003004Earl Marmarreduce clearin 1 more cm

reduce Ip to 750 kA

plasma

made it all the way through this time

q_95 gets down to 2.97

early hards; bounced during current rise
Oct 3 2002 10:10:51:633AM1021003005Earl Marmaradd 1 msec to prepuff

still early hards

disrupt at 1.28
Oct 3 2002 10:24:54:023AM1021003006Earl Marmaradd 2 msec to prepuff

nl_04 to 1.2e20

plasma

lumpy rampdown, but otherwise a good shot
Oct 3 2002 10:43:20:473AM1021003007Earl Marmarnl_04 to 9e19

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 10:50:10:197AM1021003008Earl Marmardecrease prepuff by 1 msec

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 11:11:58:667AM1021003009Earl Marmardecrease nl_04 to 7.5e19

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 11:37:24:313AM1021003010Earl Marmarnl_04 up to 1.5e20

plasma

disrupt in rampdown at 500
Oct 3 2002 11:53:41:373AM1021003011Earl Marmarnl_04 to 1.7e20

plasma

resistive and disruptive; couldn't take the density

finally dies at 0.7 seconds
Oct 3 2002 12:15:31:513PM1021003012Earl Marmargo to 7 Tesla early; then ramp down

Ip program to 850 kA

nl_04 to 1.6e20

plasma; good shot
Oct 3 2002 12:20:45:550PM1021003013Earl Marmarnl_04 to 1.75e20

plasma; good shot
Oct 3 2002 12:44:31:130PM1021003014Earl Marmarnl_04 to 2.2e20

Ip to 1.0 MA

plasma; good shot

all the oh power supplies are hitting their rails between 1.2 and 1.4 seconds; the current starts to ramp down
at 1.38 seconds; disrupt at 1.5 s, 800 kA
Oct 3 2002 01:15:46:470PM1021003016Earl MarmarBt up to 5.8T, then slow ramp to 5.6

nl_04 to 1.5e20

Ip to 800 kA

plasma; good shot

small density increase shortly after 1 second (marfe moving?)
Oct 3 2002 01:49:32:247PM1021003017Earl MarmarBt flat at 5.8T

nl_04 to 1.7e20

plasma; good shot
Oct 3 2002 01:53:21:157PM1021003018Earl MarmarBt ramp down from 5.90 to 5.60 Tesla

fizzle
Oct 3 2002 02:13:49:283PM1021003019Earl Marmarreduce prefill by 2 msec

reduce B_R0 offset by .5 mT

plasma

Early hards; otherwise seems fine
Oct 3 2002 02:41:30:850PM1021003020Earl Marmaradd 2 msec to prepuff

reduce Bt by 0.1 tesla, still ramping down during shot

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 04:05:31:227PM1021003021Earl Marmarafter long delay to fix pci data acquisition

no PCS changes

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 04:37:30:500PM1021003022Earl Marmarreload segment 2 from 1021003010

plasma

good shot
Oct 3 2002 04:37:55:020PM1021003023Earl Marmarbreaker pulled during check --> no power cycle
Oct 3 2002 05:47:35:807PM1021003024Earl Marmarload segment 2 from 1021001014

copy nl_04, toroidal field, Ip waveforms from 1021003022, segment 2

(attempting diverted shot with TF scan)

plasma; good shot

weird H-mode-like behavior starting at .611s (6 Tesla)
density doubles, D-alpha drops, neutron rate goes up a factor of 4, edge x-rays don't budge
Oct 3 2002 05:17:30:000PM1021003025Earl Marmarmove RXL out by 2 cm (reduce delta_lower)

increase B_R0 by 0.5 mT

plasma; good shot

weird H-mode-like behavior starting at 0.813 s (5.7 Tesla)
density nearly doubles, D-alpha drops, neutrons go way up, edge x-rays don't budge

Engineering Operator Comments
ShotTimeTypeStatusComment
108:57:12:823AMPlasmaOk
209:15:14:537AMPlasmaOk
309:29:47:740AMPlasmaOk
409:46:33:593AMPlasmaOk
510:00:21:500AMPlasmaOk
610:15:08:097AMPlasmaOk
710:31:16:897AMPlasmaOk
810:45:06:020AMPlasmaOk
911:03:23:973AMPlasmaOk
1011:18:01:657AMPlasmaOk
1111:35:29:157AMPlasmaOk
1211:59:53:313AMPlasmaOk
1312:17:23:670PMPlasmaOk
1412:32:31:400PMPlasmaOk
1512:50:31:407PMPlasmaOk
1601:09:36:873PMPlasmaOk
1701:32:25:970PMPlasmaOk
1801:50:50:513PMPlasmaOk
1902:04:28:883PMPlasmaOk
2002:27:35:637PMPlasmaOk
2103:56:19:267PMPlasmaOk
2204:15:57:063PMPlasmaOk
2304:31:12:810PMPlasmaBadpf breaker opened just prior to the shot
2404:48:25:680PMPlasmaOk
2505:07:43:730PMPlasmaOk